'Ofc
THE MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
NEW YORK 19
T? WEST
TELEPHONE,
CABLES:
SARAH
NEWMEYER,
PUBLICITY
53rd
CIRCLE
MODERNART,
STREET
5-8900
NEW-YORK
DIRECTOR
September 11, 1945
TO City Editor
Art Editor
Education Editor
Dance Editor
Theatre Editor
Dear Sir:
You are invited to come or send a representative to
Press Preview of
COSTUME CARNIVAL
a small exhibition to be shown in
the Young People1s Gallery
Tuesday, September 18
2 to 6 P,M.
at the Museum of Modern Art
11 West 53 Street
The exhibition will open to the public Wednesday, September
19, and will remain on view through November 25, The
exhibition, which has been prepared by the Department of Dance
and Theatre Design, will be sent on tour to schools and small
galleries throughout the country after Its initial showing at
the Museum.
rely yours,
larah Ne; ofer
Publicity ireotor
f
/
45917 - 29
THE M U S E U M
OF M O D E R N
ART
jl WEST 53RD STREET, NEW YORK 19, N. Y.
TELEPHONE: CIRCLE S-8900
F Q R
I M M E D I A T E
RELEASE
COSTUME CARNIVAL FOR YOUNG PEOPLE OPENS
AT MUSEUM OF MODERN ART
By means of paper sculpture, wooden cutouts, drawings and a
gaily colored merry-go-round, the Costume Carnival which opens at the
Museum of Modern Art, 11 West 53 Street, on Wednesday, September 19,
indicates the historical sources to which the contemporary costume
designer refers for his free and imaginative interpretations.
The
exhibition, designed by the Museum's Department of Dance and Theatre
Design for children of all ages, will be shown in the Young People1s
G-allery on the second floor.
When it closes November 25, it will
be circulated to schools and small galleries throughout the country.
Models and drawings emphasize the fact that fashion has never
been static and that variations and elaborations of basic patterns
throughout the centuries have provided the costume designer with an
unlimited field of ideas and inspiration.
In the first section of
the exhibition, paper sculptures by Erica G-orecka-Egan illustrate
three basic costumes—the draped gown, the poncho and the kimono.
Other paper sculptures represent highly stylized contemporary costumes
The ten wooden cutouts on the merry-go-round span the fashions of many
centuries, the figures exaggerating and emphasizing the peculiar
characteristics and oddities of the period.
A dance figure by
Alexander Calder straddles the top of the merry-go-round.
The work of the modern artists, in the second part of the
exhibition, points out the changing attitude to the problem of costume
design.
Instead of limiting himself to a dependence upon authentic
historical details and transposing the actual costume to the stage,
the modern artist relies primarily on his imagination and has thus
introduced a freer and more creative approach to the field of costume
design.
No original costume designs are shown.
Drawings and cutout
figures by Jean Volkmer and Charlotte Trowbridge of the Museum staff,
are adapted for children from original documents. Among the artists
whose costume designs have served as Inspiration are Picasso, Leger,
Schlemmer, Dali and Merlda.
/£»>
COSTUME
CARNIVAL
C]je_clLiiisi
SHELF ONE
5 moor sculptures in boxes and 5 drawings illustrating the following costumes:
(1) Draped Gown (Toga - Chiton)
(2) Tunic - Poncho
(3) Cloak - Kimono
SHELF TWO
5 wooden cutouts
(1) Costume "Harlequin" (Commedia doll1Arte)
(2) Mexican Indian Costume
(3) Mexican Costume, after Merida
PANELS
A and B
(A) Different forms of Skirts
(B) Different forms of Trousers
SHELF THREE
3 paper sculptures
(1) Alexandra EXTER - Costume for Oscar Wilde's"Salome", 1917
(2) Alexander VESNIN - Costume for Racine's "Phedre", 1921
(3) Pablo PICASSO - Costume 'Manager1 for Satie's Ballet "Parade", 1917
SHELF FOUR
5 cutouts and 5 drawings
(1) Fernand LEGER - Costume for Milhaud's Ballet "The Creation of the World','1923
(2) Joan JUNYER - Costume for projected Ballet, 1945
(3) Georges VALMIER - Costume for Pillement's "Cyprien", 1923
(4) Oskar SCHLEMIMl - Costume for the "Triadic Ballet", 1923
(5) Salvador DALI - Costume for the "Paranoic Ballet", about 1940
(6) Richard LINDNER - Ballet Costume "The Magic Cock", 1945
MERRY-GO-ROUND
Ten cutouts of silhouettes of Fashion through the Ages,
Samples of Materials, demonstrating different materials, weaves, colors.
All costume drav/ings or sculptures or cutouts are free copies or have been
redesigned. None of them is original.